Airbags

[aidan]

My 1994 Camry has a notice on the sun visor saying that the airbag must be inspected after 10 years. I called a Toyota dealer who wants £100 plus VAT to "have a look" and then between £400 and £900 for a new airbag if needed. On a ten year old car, this doesn't look like good economics.

How long should an airbag last? What are the chances of failure after 10 years? Are there any specialists who could service the unit for less than the Toyota main dealer charge?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Unity Jon]

see what your saying, what about pulling the fuse from the airbag system and forgetting they were ever there ?

[aidan]

Jon,

thanks for the reply.

I had thought about this, but my worry was a) if a car has a safety device fitted, then I don't know if has to be kept for insurance (like seatbelts) and B) I was more worried about the thing going off as it got old and degraded - even if I pull the fuse, I assume the gas cylinder will still be live.